Abstract

Very high angular resolution can be achieved in optical and radio astronomy through interferometers in space. Evolutionary approaches and required technological advances are presented. In the optical region a phase-coherent array (COSMIC) starting as a four-element linear array is discussed. Combining several modules results in greatly improved resolution with a goal of combining images to obtain a single field of view with 0.004 arcsecond resolution. The angular resolution, detail and temporal coverage of radio maps obtained by ground-based Very Long Interferometry (VLBI) can be greatly improved by placing one of the stations in Earth orbit. An evolutionary program leading to a large aperture VLBI observatory in space is discussed.